LOVETT: In wake of Amazon deal, Gianaris wants to bar state non-disclosure agreements with companies

New York State Sen. Michael Gianaris, center, calls on supporters to remove the Amazon app from their phones and boycott the company, as he address a coalition rally and press conference Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018, in New York. (Bebeto Matthews / AP)

ALBANY — A leading critic of the deal to bring Amazon to New York City will introduce legislation to bar the state from entering into future confidentiality agreements with private companies.

Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) said the public should know the details of major projects like Amazon before they are agreed to by the governor’s office.

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“The balance of power has tipped way too far in favor of big-moneyed interests and it is past time to fight back and reclaim it for the people,” Gianaris said.

“The idea that we can have private corporate interests dictating to governments that they’re not allowed to talk to the people and reveal what they’re doing with their money is insane on many levels,” he added.

Gianaris is among a host of elected leaders who have been critical of the $2.9 billion incentive package that was offered by the state and city to successfully lure Amazon to Long Island City.

Amazon required bidders to agree to a non-public disclosure agreement.

Gianaris’ bill, which will be introduced in the new legislative session in January, would prohibit the state in the future from agreeing to such terms as part of any bidding process or negotiation.

“New York would either convey that we would not be permitted to sign a non-disclosure agreement or we won’t be bidding if it’s part of the process,” Gianaris said.

Because the current state freedom of information law already allows for the withholding of sensitive proprietary information, there is no reason the state should not be able to reveal to the public what it is offering to attract companies, he said.

Had it been in place before the Amazon deal was done, “it would not have been a secret negotiation presented to us fait accompli. I believe if the public had known over the last year what its leaders were negotiating, this would have been stopped long before it got to this point.”

Cuomo has argued it would not have been feasible to reveal the bid details from those engaged in the nationwide competition for the second Amazon headquarters that ultimately was split between New York and Virginia.

He said the $2.8 billion in incentives agreed to by the state and city were less than some others offered.

Cuomo has also argued that the state and city are not paying out the incentives, but rather offering tax savings from what Amazon would otherwise be paying in payroll and corporate taxes. For every $1 billion in revenue for the state generated by the project, Amazon will get back $100 million, he has said.

One Albany insider supportive of the project, which Amazon said will create 25,000 jobs, suggested Gianaris’ plan “isn’t a serious government proposal.”

“It's just a manifestation of Gianaris' political fear of (Rep.-elect) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the socialists in his district,” the insider said.

Others suggest the bill is the first salvo in what could be an even more contentious relationship between Gianaris, who is the Senate deputy Democratic leader, and Cuomo now that the Dems have grabbed the chamber majority.

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“Mike is making it clear that the Senate has cards to play and they’re willing to play them,” one Democratic insider said. “If the Senate were able to improve the Amazon deal, that would give them leverage in future fights this session.”

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Not every Democrat is celebrating the party’s takeover of the state Senate.

A skeptical Assemblyman Charles Baron (D-Brooklyn) said he first wants to see if the party can deliver on issues of importance to poor and minority communities, like attacking poverty and unemployment in black neighborhoods, improving infant mortality rates, and reducing homelessness and mass incarceration.

He said the Democrats did not deliver on such issues when they controlled both houses of Congress the first two years when Barack Obama was president.

And in New York, they didn’t succeed when they last controlled state government a decade ago, he said.

“I’m not going to have no pre-celebration of a Democratically controlled Senate and Assembly with a so-called Democratic governor. I’ll be excited when they deliver,” Barron said.